Blangiardi signs Mahina Olelo Hawaii bill
Growing up, Honolulu City Council chair Tommy Waters heard nary a word of Hawaiian at home — not from his father, not even from his pure-Hawaiian grandmother.
While proud of their cultural heritage, his elders understood well that what was breached at home could only have dire consequences outside — be it at Hawaii schools, where for more than 80 years the language was banned, or in other public spaces where the pressure to conform to American standards made speakers of olelo Hawaii seem the lesser.
